MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra is bringing in St. John’s Red Storm Justin Brownlee as the Gin Kings await the recovery of Paul Harris from a fractured right thumb suffered in the Ginebra-Globalport match Saturday at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
Brownlee, a former Maine Red Claw, San Diego Surf and Erie BayHawk in the NBA D-League, is expected to arrive Thursday in time for the Ginebra-Alaska tussle Sunday.
“Paul will be out of action for four weeks and will be placed on the injured reserve list,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Harris, a champion import with Tropang TNT, suffered an open wound fracture right in his first game with the Gin Kings. Despite Harris’ exit, the Gin Kings prevailed, 93-84.
“He’s such a nice guy and of course a good import that Boss RSA decided to let him stay. He’ll be out for at least four weeks, then his status will be day-to-day,” said SMC sports chief Alfrancis Chua.
“We’ll take care of him and his family,” said Chua of Harris who’s here with his wife and three kids.
For the meantime, the Kings will be playing with Brownlee, an undersized power forward for St. Johns in the Big East Conference in the US NCAA.
He’s listed at 6-foot-7 (with shoes on) but is likely to make the official 6-foot-5 ceiling for imports in the PBA Governors Cup.
His review by the nbadraft.net is not pretty good.
“Strengths: Highly skilled forward with inside/outside versatility. Played an undersized 4 at St. Johns, making up for height shortcomings with strength and a large wingspan. Smooth athlete with impressive agility. Operates at maximum efficiency in the high post where he acts as an offensive facilitator. Views the game a step ahead and knows where his teammates are on the floor (1.9 assists on isolation based team). Playmaker off the dribble, facing up bigger defenders and slashing to the bucket. Finishes with his off (left) hand with regularity avoiding shot blockers. Can withstand a bump and complete the play. Extremely comfortable with short and mid-range jumpers (49.4% FG). The fadeaway/fadeback is a natural shot for him, particularly in the center of the court. Upper body strength to hit wrong-footed jump shots. Utilizes the window when called for. Converted 18 college three's. Anything but a conventional scorer (12.3 ppg)- more improvisational in style. Moves well without the ball. Pushes the rock on defensive rebounds with capacity to handle coast to coast. Active defender with aggressive intentions (1.1 stl). High defensive motor.”
“Weaknesses: Does not fit into a true NBA position mold – closest to a SF. His 6'7 listing is being kind and will likely be exposed during measurements. A solid run/jump athlete, but lacks the lateral quickness to defend on the perimeter exclusively. He can't body up pro 4's, and doesn't possess the explosion to finish or board in the paint amongst the trees. He does many things adequately, but no standout skill. Goes through games of invisibility and passivity. Attempted a shockingly low 2.8 free throws per contest- with his build, that's borderline unacceptable (granted, St. John's was zoned quite often). Out of control at times and casual with the rock. Prone to getting stripped, putting the ball down in congested areas (2 to). Releases his jumper on the way down, resulting in line drive trajectory. Enhanced three-point arc will not be his ally (34%, 0.5 makes). Tendency to fall into predictable patterns with his moves, repeating the same or similar maneuver play after play. Struggled to exert himself on the backboards in the sizable Big East (5.2 rpg). Appears stiff defensively, standing too upright in the post.”